India cement sales up 18% in October
Domestic cement companies registered a sales growth in October, despite a lull in major infrastructure projects. The 275Mt industry witnessed a rise of 18.54 per cent in its sales volumes at 18.22Mt of cement.
This is the highest since August last year, when the industry grew a little over 17.2 per cent. Generally, such high growth is recorded in the peak months when construction activities increase (January-March).
Production, too, was on the rise to 18.75 per cent at 18.49Mt in October.
Industry experts said the growth is not on the back of real demand, but an artificial demand prompted by stocking up of building material by dealers and consumers anticipating a further price rise in the coming weeks.
In a note, India Infoline said, “A low base in the previous year, seasonal improvment in demand and re-stocking demand on account of rising prices is likely to have increased despatch growth.”
According to cement dealers, end-user demand, particularly in the residential segment continues to be sluggish, due to a sharp rise in prices over the past few months.
Published under Cement News
